The present invention relates to a back support and particularly but not exclusively relates to a back support for use with a seat such as a vehicle seat for placing the back of a user in traction.
One-in-three people suffer from lower back pain at some point in their lives and for some it is a major cause of disability and restriction of their daily lives.
For chronic lower back pain sufferers whose job is sedentary and often involves an hour or two in their car on a daily basis, back pain can be a significant problem. It is important that, when a person is seated, the “in curve” in the lower back, known as the lumbar lordosis, is maintained. This curve is one of three curves in the spine and together these curves act to absorb forces placed upon the spine and share the load of the body weight of the person. Maintaining the lumbar lordosis is made easier by modern car seats and office chairs having lumbar supports which usually consist of an outwardly curved region of the lower seat back.
During treatment of lower back pain, osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists may perform “traction” to the injured area to relax the corresponding muscle groups, improve fluid dynamics, reduce compressive effects of the injury and reduce the pain perceived by the brain. Traction has been shown to be of considerable benefit during treatment, especially of compression injuries. Unfortunately, anti-compression of the spine is relatively difficult to achieve, as the necessary equipment exists in only a limited number of forms and is often bulky and impractical.
Traction as used herein means the application of pulling or tensile forces to the vertebrae of the back in order to achieve vertical separation of some or all of the vertebrae of the back.
Traction exercises for the neck (or cervical spine), for example, can be achieved with a device which has a chin strap and a strap for the back of the head, both being connected to a wire which runs vertically through a pulley and over the top of a door. On the other side of the door are a series of weights which offering vertical traction to the cervical spine when the user is stood adjacent the door. A whole spine traction device is also on the market and comprises a flat board suspended at 45° between two sides of an “A” frame. The ankles of a user are fixed to one end of the board and the board is tilted so that the head of the user is at the lower end of the board to traction the whole spine at 45° from the ankles. These traction devices are not suitable for a seated user.